Dynasty's Chronicles Part 1: Flight to the Future
by whitelock
Summary: My go at the pre-story of the Lion King. This first part takes place while Simba's first known ancestors lived and lets us know how they made it to the Pridelands.
1. Chapter 1

She slid through the tall grass, trying to evade being detected. Her paws barely made a sound as she kept stalking her prey. She knew she was going to be a great hunter one day, her mother had said so too. It was not like she had a choice – rogue lions had to learn to fend for themselves from early on, or they died an untimely death. Her own sister's inability to learn that simple lesson had cost her life – she went for a careless drink of water at the river, and the resident crocodiles didn't pass the chance.

Panya kept stalking onward, her figure that wasn't a cub's anymore, but far from being an adult yet, remained unseen. That hare had it coming.

Suddenly there was a loud crack of a stick and the hare darted away, not even bothering to point his ears in the noise's direction. Panya gave out a grunt and dropped her hind to the ground. All that effort for naught.

Then she heard a sharp squeak and another cracking noise. She quickly dropped to the ground, blending with the grass and sand. Her heart was racing. What could have gotten the hare so quickly after it fled, and without her sensing it too? She was in danger!

She kept laying low, but the fact that she couldn't hear a sound made her nervous. Was that thing still out there or not?! She could hear her heartbeat getting faster and faster, as well as her breathing. She could almost hear her breath whistle.

"No! Calm down, you pile of rhino dung!" she thought to herself angrily, and risked taking a deeper breath to calm down that heart of hers. She closed her eyes, breathed in through her nose and exhaled. The loud thumping in her ears seemed to fade away a bit.

Suddenly she felt something step in front of her. Something heavy. She though "Oh, no." and kept squeezing her eyes. She didn't want to see what killed her. No, wait… She took a careful sniff and the scruff on her neck stood up. Another lion. A male, at that. She was going to die for sure.

Something fell on her and when the smell of blood hit her nose, she screamed, her eyes still closed.

"Are you taking that back, or I should just eat you both?"

She carefully opened her right eye and looked up. The lion in front of her wasn't nearly as big as she imagined – he was but an adolescent, his mane still growing in scruffs and patches. Then she looked back and realized he had dropped the very hare she had been stalking on top of her. Anger rose in her throat. How could he mock another hunter that way, even if she was two times smaller than him?!

She nearly bared her teeth and hissed, when she took the opportunity to look at him more carefully. A brown mane, red eyes that looked like they were permanently squinted, a greyish-yellow coat with a lighter belly…

Wait…

When she realized who she was standing in front of, it dawned on Panya that she'd die for sure. That was the future ruler of the territory she and her mother trespassed so casually to hunt. He was still nameless, as the tradition dictated, but he would take the name Mfalme, or King, once he took the rule from his father. Poachers like her were less than welcome.

He seemed amused by her discovery and nearly snorted. He was laughing at her!

"Aren't you going to beg for your life?"

The anger that had just died out burst in Panya again. How dared he!At the same time he started laughing out loud. What in the heavens was so funny? Why was he so amused at her? Did she do something not suitable for his noble taste that gave him a moment of amusement before he killed her for her crime?

"Next time you will not give me that look." he said and his brows furrowed. Then he turned around and left.

Panya sat down with her mouth agape. What just happened? She was still alive, there must have been something she did that saved her sorry grey hide. Then she shook her head, picked up the hare and turned away from the scene of the meeting. She would take several fake turns and go back a little, in order to create a fake trail before going back to the den she and her mother used. The small rodent in her mouth tasted sour from the unpleasant encounter. Her mother would not be happy that she had let herself be seen, and she knew it.

She paid little heed to what he had said before he left. "Next time…" What next time? The moment she told her mother about the encounter, they would dart out of here without delay.

Little did she know that he had other ideas.


	2. Chapter 2

Nguchiro gave out a wide, cattish yawn and put her head back down. Where was that daughter of hers? The old lioness flicked her flaky, scarred ears with irritation. She was starting to go hungry, and that had never made her very talkative. Or friendly, for that matter. If only that wildebeest hadn't kicked her on the side, when she tried to snatch its calf away…

She saw Panya sliding through the grass and hopping down from the huge stone plate that made the roof of their small home. After noticing the hare hanging from the younger lioness' mouth, her squinted grimace softened a little. That girl was going to be good one day. The hare wouldn't be enough to fill even one of them, of course, but it was proof that her daughter was getting better and better at hunting. Soon she would probably be able to bring down decent prey for both of them to eat well. Darn that wildebeest…

Panya slid down in front of her mother, who was basking in the last rays of warmth before the sun was set. It helped soothe her aching side. Panya dropped the hare (her mother always growled at her when she talked with her mouth full) and greeted Nguchiro with a head-butt.

"I'm back, mother."

"Good, you managed to bring something. Bring that hare along and let me have a bite."

Panya looked away and Nguchiro knew something unusual had happened. She tilted aside, groaned a little and then got up at sat down again next to her daughter.

"Mind telling me what is wrong, little one? It is not like you to be so hesitant and quiet."

Panya looked away for a second, but then furrowed her eyebrows, took a breath and started talking.

"I met a lion today, mother. One of the Royals. The heir, no less."

"Go on." Nodded the older lioness.

"I was stalking it", Panya nodded towards the hare, "when he startled it and killed it. Then he returned it and left."

Nguchiro shot a glance at her daughter and asked:

"How did you react? You are not telling me everything."

Panya looked at her mother's unreadable expression and gave up the idea of looking tough for the sake of maintaining dignity.

"I was dead scared, mother. Petrified. I closed my eyes, so I wouldn't have to look at what killed me and then he dropped the hare on me."

"Dropped?"

"Yes, and asked if I was taking it back, so he shouldn't wonder whether to eat us both."

Nguchiro squinted her eyes, thinking. "So not only did you allow yourself to encounter a lion, but a Royal, and you froze on the spot and let yourself be mocked? Good going, daughter."

"There was something alarming about him, mother. His smell made me afraid, but I do not know why."

"Did he smell of lion blood?"

At first Panya didn't understand the question and looked at her mother in dismay. Why on Earth would he smell of a lion's blood? Then it dawned on her what her mother was inquiring about. Of course a lion who sheds the blood of another lion in a fight would smell alarming!

"No, he did not. It was something else."

Nguchiro sighed and then said "Given the situation, I can understand why you were afraid. That was your first time seeing a Royal or a male up close, right?"

Panya nodded.

"Let me think through the night what we should do. For now, come and eat, then we sleep for a while. We will go on a night hunt afterwards. It is time you learned to take down larger prey than that skinny rat.", she gave her daughter a cheeky look and smiled. Panya, still more a child than an adult, took the joke at heart and started laughing.

She was pretty, that daughter of hers, Nguchiro thought. An unusually light grey pelt, and blue eyes, all of that on a light, thin frame she got from her father. Much unlike the bulky lioness Nguchiro herself was. Their pelts were similar though – Nguchiro's was a dustier greyish-brown than her daughter's cloudy grey; with some vague darker stripes on the sides of her back, which had earned her name as a cub – Nguchiro meant Mongoose. She was every bit as fierce as the tiny bloodsucking snake killer, too. Panya's name meant Mouse – she was small, agile and nimble, shifting through the shadows, even if a bit shy and insecure at times. Nguchiro had named her after the small rodent in hopes of her daughter becoming as elusive as her namesake.

Soon the time would come when it would be clear if Panya could earn the right to bear her name.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun started poking through the blades of grass, painting the scattered savannah trees in a gorgeous golden reddish tint. The two lionesses were pulling the carcass of a young zebra. They managed to drag it to the tree that shaded their cave, and stopped for a break.

Nguchiro was proud of her daughter. She did most of the work, choosing the zebra, chasing it down and delivering the final choking kiss of death. Nguchiro herself did little more than hang onto the young male, so her daughter could get a better grip. She smiled inside. Her Panya was now an accomplished hunter.

Speaking of Panya, she lay on her belly, panting slightly. Pulling down the zebra and killing it was one thing, but dragging it here was something else. She looked quizzically at her mother – what now? That behavior was less than typical, they should have eaten already and decided what to do!

Nguchiro looked at her daughter and said "You will wait here with the kill. I have some business to do."

"What business exactly, mother?" Panya asked. She didn't like her mother's tone one bit.

"Your betrothal", Nguchiro answered without delay.

"My WHAT?!"

"You heard me, cub, now listen. I know you will demand explanation at least, and I will give it to you, but do not interrupt me. Understand?"

Panya, who had stood up on three of her legs and stretched out her front right paw in a waving motion, sat down and closed her mouth. She took a brief moment to think and then nodded.

"Alright, Panya, I won't lie. I don't like the way that darn wildebeest kicked me – I'm not sure if I would ever heal properly. I don't want you becoming a rogue that has to eventually take care of an old bag of bones like me who won't even be able to hunt. I will try to arrange you a betrothal with the Royals – with the heir, if we are lucky – if not, even just a place in the pride is good enough for now. The current Queen owes me a favor, and if we are indeed lucky, she will remember it."

Nguchiro sighed and looked sadly at her daughter.

"I am sorry, Panya. I probably hate it even more than you do, but I don't see another way. I don't want you to live alone, so while I am still here to help you get used to the change, I will find you a pride to live with. I will stay with you to make sure you are alright – I don't want you living off your days alone like me after your father got killed. I love you, kid, even if I don't show it often, and while I still can, I'll do everything in my power to get you a decent life."

Panya said nothing, just pushed herself next to her mother in a leonine hug and said:

"Thank you, mother. I appreciate it. I will try to be the best possible pridesister for them, so I don't shame you and make you feel bad."

Nguchiro looked at her daughter in dismay. Such a young soul, and already so selfless. She forced herself to smile.

"Loosen up, Panya. It's not like we're saying goodbye, is it? You'll have plenty of time to be overly official and polite once we get into that pride."

Panya looked up into her mother's eyes, smiled and said:

"Alright, mom. I won't."


	4. Chapter 4

As they approached the den of the Royal pride, Panya started getting a little nervous. Her mother and she were poachers and rogues, after all – what were they exactly hoping for? Their best bet was to present the zebra to the Royals and pray they wouldn't attack on sight.

"Didn't I tell you to loosen up a bit? You are not going to make a very good impression if you are petrified like prey before the final bite." Nguchiro scoffed. "Even if they are Royals, they are still lions, there isn't much to be afraid of."

"It's not that, mother." Panya mumbled under her nose.

"Then what is it?"

"There will be so many of them… I've never been around so many lions before…"

Nguchiro sighed. Panya's rogue origins and upbringing would be easily seen and felt once they were at their destination. The Royal pride had mostly golden, brown and dust-colored bulky lions – Panya's light grey coat and thin frame would stand out like a snowflake among grains of sand. Nguchiro was just hoping her daughter wouldn't melt among them, too…

"In the name of the King and Queen, HALT!"

Nguchiro looked up and saw three guards – two males and a female – approaching them with heads held high. She mimicked their posture and tried her best not to show that her side still hurt. Then she whispered to Panya:

"Stand tall and do not show fear or confusion. We must not let them feel superior to us just yet, or our cause will be lost before we even began it."

Panya nodded and tried her best not to look panicked and helpless.

"What brings you here, outsiders?", the lead male guard inquired. Nguchiro chuckled inside – the guards of the Royals were trained to talk to any trespassers first, unless they were openly aggressive. She took her breath and prepared to answer.

"We are here with a gift for their Majesties and we would like an audience with the Queen on a political matter."

The female guard, obviously still inexperienced, snorted disrespectfully. "And who, by the Great Kings, do you think you are to request an audience with our Queen?!"

The other two guards, obviously irritated by the breach of etiquette, gave her a stern look, but said nothing. The lead one, a battered but still somewhat regal male, squinted his eyes at Nguchiro in a sign of recognition, but still kept silent.

Nguchiro, however, did not want to give the young female any slack. She raised her eyebrows, pulled her ears back, lifted her chin and straightened her posture.

"If you were trained any better, young one, you would know who I am and how I have a right of asking for audience", Nguchiro said, "I was once Nguchiro the Swift, former High General of the Royal army".

"So it was you", the lead male said, "I was beginning to think I am starting to get senile after all these years". Then he gave her a smirk, "Welcome back, sister."

Nguchiro softened a bit, and then sat back and stretched her paw in a greeting "It has been a long time, Jasiri, my brother. Will you take us to the Queen now? I have something to ask her regarding my daughter. Panya, come and greet your uncle, will you?"

Panya, however, did not move a muscle and just sat there with her mouth agape. The last two minutes' conversation was still coursing through her head. Her mother had been WHAT now?!


End file.
